A place to find the most amazing Latin American folk tales

Torobochi Tree Legend

Bolivia is part of the Andean region and is full of extraordinary myths and legends. Each of their 36 cultures of Bolivia has its own legend. What it makes Bolivian legends different from the other Andean countries is that the stories are told in the native language like Guarani and Aymara. In addition, native rituals support the storytelling.

Legend from Santa Cruz, Bolivia

The spirit of the darkness, in the beginning, when the world was created used to abuse and murder humans the legend says. These spirits called “Aña” went after the cacique Ururuti’s beautiful daughter who was pregnant and would give birth to a son who would punish them, so they decided to kill her.

Torobochi Tree

Her husband god Colibri (hummingbird) gave her a flying carpet and Araverá was able to escape from the village, but the spirits of the darkness kept following her. One day, tired of being harassed she decided to hide in the trunk of a Torobochi tree and gave birth to her son.

Hummingbird

The boy executed the prophecy, revenging his mother, who had to hide inside the tree until she died. Araverá buried in the amphora-shaped trunk of a Toborochi tree likes to come outside to attract hummingbirds, in the shape of a beautiful flower to keep contact with her husband.